Not terrible, but not worth paying for

Rating: 5/10 (5 October 2013)

This movie was on my must-see list early this year. While I don't spend a lot of time listening to critics, the descriptions of a trite story and some messy, dark, special effects turned me off and it went to the "rental" list. For me a good choice and not only was I disappointed, I was checking my watch at the end.
The monsters ARE cool, and I know del Toro is giving big nods to classic critter monsters, but ended up feeling like ripoffs of Jurassic Park, Godzilla, and Cloverfield. Lot of the time the monsters didn't seem to have sharp edges and looked kind of blobby. Lots of glowing blue eyes and glowing slime. The acting is adequate, the script is adequate, but it's all so trite and been there, done that. More ripoff of Iron Man, Transformers, Independence Day. Lots of laser light lightning. A couple of bright moments from the cast that rise like gas bubbles, pop, and then we are back to more of Top Gun.
Am no hater, thought the trailers looked incredible, but meh. This looked like something that came from the Sci-Fi channel. At least Transformers has CHARACTERS even if over-the-top, whereas PR felt like it was imitating characters from other films, and without a lot of energy. Except the girl was cute.
Rent this for a rainy stay-in night when you just want something to watch without having to think to much. It's OK. Not sure why some are really enthusiastic but I wasn't seeing it.